A Motorized Filing Cabinet

HOT ROD’s Publisher Jeff Dahlin built this. He’s been with the magazine for a while, so you would think he’d speak up when he has something to contribute editorially. But in the nearly one year we’ve been doing HOT ROD Anything! he only recently mentioned his motorized file cabinet. We’re not sure why—not why he didn’t speak up sooner, just why he built it. He explained, but really?

Jeff saw a contest on a practical-joke website soliciting 3D gags and thought a motorized file cabinet rigged to do things like give an electrical shock would be fun to make. So he did. He found a metal file cabinet on Craigslist, purchased a Toyota truck starter motor because it had an exposed pinion gear, and wired it to a dry-cell battery. A chain spins the axle to which the wheels are mounted, with the rider’s choice of an all-or-nothing switch or intermittent switch lighting off the whole mess. The steering is handled by a shaft running through the cabinet attached to handles at the front. There’s a Jackass logo stenciled on the sides. OK, then.

2/2Pic: Thom Taylor

We at HOT ROD understand the mechanics of the build, but we’re still trying to understand why. Jeff says top speed is around 25 mph, and according to the joke site, which uses the contraption for parties and impromptu demonstrations, that could be a conservative figure. They told us the intermittent switch works best, as there are no brakes, and the top-heavy handling is scary when speeds climb and pavement starts running out.

Unfortunately, Jeff did not win First Prize. Says Dahlin, “I never heard back from them after I dropped it off.” Hmmm.